China's domestic stainless steel prices widened upward over the past week on nickel gains in recent days.Metal Bulletin's assessment of prices for benchmark 304 stainless cold-rolled coil in the major market of Wuxi was 14,500-15,500 yuan ($2,303-2,461) per tonne including VAT for the week ended Thursday February 1, widening upward by 300 yuan per tonne from 14,500-15,200 yuan per tonne a week ear...Read More
The following Metal Bulletin non-ferrous European free market scrap prices changed on Friday February 2:Aluminium ingot Duty paid delivered works...Read More
Turkish steel mills resumed their deep-sea scrap purchases late this week after they managed to get slightly lower prices from suppliers in the United States and the UK, sources said on Friday February 2.Three deep-sea cargoes changed hands late on February 1, Metal Bulletin was told.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a US cargo, comprising 20,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $345 per tonne...Read More
The UK inter-merchant price range for austenitic alloy steel scrap rose by ?20-30 per tonne this week with nickel prices remaining strong, sources said on Friday February 2.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for inter-merchant 18/8 scrap solids in the UK was ?950-980 ($1,351-1,394) per tonne delivered on Friday, compared with ?920-960 per tonne on January 26.The London Metal Exchange thre...Read More
Palisade Research February 2, 2018 Category: Research Nickel’s fundamentals haven’t looked this good in a long time.The price of nickel is already up 29% in the last 6 months.But 20% of that is from the last 60 days alone. . .Within the shadows, nickel has been setting up for an exciting future.Diminishing supplies and surging demand has tightened the market for the metal.And as an inv...Read More
TOKYO, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said on Friday that financial regulators were conducting an on-site inspection of Coincheck, after hackers last week stole more than $500 million from the cryptocurrency exchange.Aso, speaking to reporters after a regular cabinet meeting, said the decision was made based on the need to protect users. (Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Edit...Read More
The U.S. dollar continues to trade under pressure and is now at a critical support level. The dollar index has lost almost half of a percentage in value today and is currently fixed at 88.54. If the dollar continues to trade at this level, it will mark the eighth consecutive week in which it has closed below its opening price on Monday.Beginning in mid-December of last year, the dollar went into a...Read More
(Kitco News) - The excitement in the gold market space might not last, with ABN Amro warning of a looming drop in prices in the next few weeks.“Gold prices are toppish at current levels and we expect prices to move below USD 1,300 in the coming weeks,” the Dutch bank said in its Precious Watch report published on Thursday.Gold is already up 3% since the start of 2018, but this does not...Read More
(Kitco News) - It’s not just retail investors who are taking a shine to gold as an important portfolio diversifier, with a new report from PwC highlighting growing demand for the yellow metal from Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWF).According to the report, state-owned investment funds are turning towards alternatives assets like private equities, real estate, infrastructure and commodities like go...Read More
(Kitco News) - The bottom continues to fall out of bitcoin as prices drop below key support levels but analysts don’t see the renewed weakness helping the gold price retest its recent highs.Thursday, bitcoin continued to make waves in financial markets as the price dropped below $10,000 with analysts expecting to see lower prices in the near-term. Last trading at $9,129, bitcoin is down 54%...Read More
(Kitco News) - Gold Prices were ending the U.S. day session with scant gains Thursday. A continued erosion of the U.S. dollar in the foreign exchange markets worked to support the yellow metal on this day. April Comex gold futures were last up $1.60 an ounce at $1,344.80. March Comex silver was last down $0.136 at $17.11 an ounce.There was a very heavy dose of U.S. economic data released Thursday....Read More
(Kitco News) - While many analysts have been focused on gold’s rally against the U.S. dollar, one investment firm noted that the yellow metal started the year with broad-based strength against the seven most liquid global currencies.In a report Thursday, Europe-based investment firm Insch Kintore described gold’s first trading month of the year as “interesting and somewhat frustr...Read More
SHANGHAI, Feb 1 (SMM) - Copper: The US dollar is unlikely to fall further in the short term as the Federal Reserve Board implied an interest rate increase in March. Physical market stayed weak as buyers were cautious ahead of Chinese New Year. We expect SHFE copper to trade at 52,500-53,000 yuan/mt today with spot discounts at 140-90 yuan/mt.Aluminium: We see SHFE aluminium trade lower at 14,...Read More
SHANGHAI, Feb 1 (SMM) - Copper: The US dollar is unlikely to fall further in the short term as the Federal Reserve Board implied an interest rate increase in March. Physical market stayed weak as buyers were cautious ahead of Chinese New Year. We expect SHFE copper to trade at 52,500-53,000 yuan/mt today with spot discounts at 140-90 yuan/mt.Aluminium: We see SHFE aluminium trade lower at 14,...Read More
SHANGHAI, Feb 1 (SMM) - Copper: The US dollar is unlikely to fall further in the short term as the Federal Reserve Board implied an interest rate increase in March. Physical market stayed weak as buyers were cautious ahead of Chinese New Year. We expect SHFE copper to trade at 52,500-53,000 yuan/mt today with spot discounts at 140-90 yuan/mt.Aluminium: We see SHFE aluminium trade lower at 14,...Read More
The latest news and price moves to start the Asian day on Thursday February 1.Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange closed in positive territory almost across the board on Wednesday January 31, supported by weakness in the US dollar. Read more in our live futures report.Here are how LME prices looked at Wednesday's close:There is good reason to be positive about base metals' perform...Read More
The latest news and price moves to start the Asian day on Thursday February 1.Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange closed in positive territory almost across the board on Wednesday January 31, supported by weakness in the US dollar. Read more in our live futures report.Here are how LME prices looked at Wednesday's close:There is good reason to be positive about base metals' perform...Read More
Treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) for spot market copper concentrates dropped significantly during the second half of January, with smelters coming to the market for tonnages below benchmark rates and mine sales going at aggressive numbers.Metal Bulletin's copper concentrate TC/RC index dropped by $9.4 per tonne/0.94 cents per lb. Of that drop, $3.2/0.32 cents was due to the addition of a co...Read More
Lead prices on the London Metal Exchange were 1.7% higher at the close on Thursday February 1, with the metal continuing its fine performance since the turn of 2018. The three-month lead price hit a high of $2,668 per tonne earlier today, the highest since July 29, 2011, and closed just $3 shy of this high level. "The fundamental outlook for lead is strong with low exchange stocks while consumptio...Read More
Comex copper prices were trading in negative territory once again on Thursday February 1 with a bout of poor Chinese data offsetting strong US manufacturing figures. Copper for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped 0.15 cents or 0.1% to $3.1940 per lb. The red metal has failed to set a clear price direction over the past few weeks and inconsistent data r...Read More